Former US President-Endorsed Contender Asfura Proclaimed Incoming President of Honduras

Donald Trump-backed candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura was announced as the winner of Honduras’s race for the presidency following a vote count that dragged on for nearly four weeks and was marred by fraud allegations and accusations of meddling from the American leader.

The rightwing Asfura, 67, a construction magnate and former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, secured 40.27% of the vote, against 39.53% for the moderate right Salvador Nasralla, a difference of just 28,000 ballots.

The election authority declared a victor prior to finishing the review of all tally sheets under a “extraordinary review” launched last week to re-tally votes flagged as “inconsistent”. The decision was decried by unsuccessful contenders and lamented by the OAS, which sent an monitoring team to the poll held on 30 November.

Asfura has proclaimed himself as president-elect. “The nation, we now have the formal proclamation from the CNE [supreme electoral tribunal]. I recognise the great work carried out by the councillors and the entire team that administered the election. Honduras: I am prepared to lead. I will not fail you. God bless Honduras,” he stated.

Nasralla declined to accept defeat and published a number of messages alleging fraud in the counting process, including “tampering with official records”, claiming that “the figures from the original tally sheets were altered”.

The electoral council is made up of three members: one aligned with Asfura’s party, one with Nasralla’s, and one with the party of the progressive president, Xiomara Castro, whose nominee finished third. Asfura’s win was declared only by the first two councillors.

The representative associated with the president’s party rejected the outcome, alleged that an “electoral coup” was taking place and lodged a complaint with the attorney general, opening the possibility that the outcome will be challenged in the judiciary.

In its announcement, the council declared: “By the sovereign choice of the people of Honduras, expressed freely at the ballot box, the full council of the CNE proclaims Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah legitimate president of the Republic of Honduras for the four-year term beginning on 27 January 2026 and concluding on 27 January 2030.”

The proclamation prior to the conclusion of the recount was the most recent in a string of controversies that characterized the Central American country’s presidential race, beginning with what many saw as open interference by the US president.

Days before the vote, Trump publicly backed Asfura, stated the US would back the next government only if he won, and attacked the other leading candidates, labeling them communists or allies of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.

On the night of the election, the US president also granted clemency for the ex-leader of Honduras and Asfura supporter Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a major drug trafficking route to the United States”.

The American top diplomat, Marco Rubio, congratulated Asfura on a public platform. “The people of Honduras have made their choice: Nasry Asfura is Honduras’ incoming leader,” said Rubio. “The United States extends its congratulations to the elected president Asfura and looks forward to working with his administration to promote prosperity and security in our region.”